Wisdom That is Tender Hearted
”Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus recognized the need for blending opposites. He knew that his disciples would face a difficult and hostile world, where they would confront cold and arrogant men whose hearts had been hardened. So he said to them, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves,” (Mat thew 10:16) while giving a formula for action, “Be ye there fore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” It is difficult to imagine an individual having both the characteristics of the serpent and the dove, simultaneously, but this is what Jesus expects.
WISE AS SERPENTS
First, let us consider the need for incisive and critical thinking, realistic appraisal, and decisive judgment. Such a mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the defenses of legends and myths. It shifts the true from the false using mature judgment based on ‘God’s word (Hebrews 4:12). The wise individual is astute and discerning. With wisdom comes firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment. Who doubts that wisdom of mind is one of man’s greatest needs? Yet, rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. In contrast, there is an almost universal quest for easy answers. In Isaiah’s day, this was the group that said, “speak unto us smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10).
What Jesus is trying to tell us is that even the best intentioned channels of information need to be considered using our best “critical-thinking” skills as energized by the Lord’s spirit. Few people have the natural ability for tough ness of mind to judge critically and to discern the true from the false, the fact from the fiction. Our minds are constantly being assailed by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and false hoods. All of this needs be weighed by the new mind exercised in the speaking of wisdom among other mature Christians (1 Corinthians 2:6). Those lacking spiritual wisdom are prone to embrace all kinds of superstitions and irrational fears. One sad example is the pitiful case of King Saul at the close of his reign.
There is always a fear of change. The gullible feels security in the status quo, and has an almost morbid fear of the new and reasoning is often looked upon as the exercise of a corrupt faculty. This has also led to a widespread belief that there is a conflict between science and religion. Of course, this is not true, for both are authored by God.
Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of materialism and moral nihilism.
Those who are “wise as serpents” examine the facts be fore reaching conclusions. The gullible reaches a conclusion before he has examined the first fact; in short, he pre judges and is prejudiced. Prejudice is not “critical thinking.”
HARMLESS AS DOVES
But we must not stop with the cultivation of “critical thinking.” The gospel also demands a harmless and tender heart. In such a heart mercy will dwell. Wisdom without harmlessness and tenderheartedness is cold and detached, leaving one’s life in a perpetual winter devoid of the warmth of spring and the gentle heat of summer. What is more tragic than to see a person who has risen to the disciplined heights of wisdom but has at the same time sunk to the passionless depths of hardheartedness? It is for this reason that we are admonished, “The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh” (Proverbs 11:17).
The hardhearted person never truly loves. He values other people mainly according to their usefulness to him. He never experiences the beauty of friendship, because he is too cold to feel affection for another and is too self-centered to share another’s joy and sorrow. He is an isolated island. No outpouring of love links him with the mainland of humanity.
The hardhearted person lacks the capacity for genuine compassion. He is unmoved by the pains and afflictions of his brothers. He passes unfortunate men every day, but he never really sees them. He depersonalizes life. “The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10).
Jesus reminds us that the good life combines the tough ness of the serpent and the tenderness of the dove. To have serpent-like qualities devoid of dovelike qualities is to be passionless, mean, and selfish. To have dove-like without serpent-like qualities is to be sentimental, anemic – and aimless. The greatness of our God lies in the fact that he is both tough-minded and tenderhearted. He has qualities both of austerity and of gentleness. For this reason Paul declares, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22).
GOD’S JUSTICE AND GRACE
The Bible, always clear in stressing both attributes of God, expresses his tough-mindedness in his justice and wrath and his tenderheartedness in his love and grace. God has two outstretched arms. One is strong enough to surround us with justice, and one is gentle enough to embrace us with grace. On the one hand, God is a God of justice, who punished Israel for her wayward deeds, and on the other hand, he is a forgiving father whose heart was filled with unutterable joy when the prodigal returned home. He does not leave us alone in our agonies and struggles. He seeks us in dark places and is moved with compassion.
At times we need to know that the Lord is a God of justice. When slumbering giants of injustice emerge in the earth, we need to know that there is a God of power who can cut them down like the grass and leave them withering like the green herb. When our most tireless efforts fail to stop the surging sweep of oppression, we need to know that in this universe is a God whose matchless strength is a fit contrast to the sordid weakness of man. But there are also times when we need to know that God possesses love and mercy. When we are staggered by the chilly winds of adversity and battered by the raging storms of disappointment and when through our folly and sin we stray into some destructive far country and are frustrated because of a strange feeling of homesickness, we need to know that there is Someone who loves us, cares for us, understands us, and will give us another chance. When days grow dark and nights grow dreary, we can be thankful that our God combines in his nature a creative synthesis of love and justice which will lead us through until we are safe in his arms.
-Selected